Week 3 witnessed the staging of the first Category A event of 2009: The NEC Master of the Amateurs. Held at Melbourne’s Yarra Yarra Golf Club, 2009’s tournament attracted a field of the highest standard with three of the WAGR Top 10 competing against Australia’s best young players.

The title was eventually won by the USA’s Mark Anderson after a three-hole playoff against compatriot and WAGRanked 3, Rickie Fowler. Anderson would make an eagle at the third extra hole to take the coveted Green Jacket and with it jump 20 places in the WAGRankings to 30th position.

Finishing tied for 16th at Yarra Yarra was Australian, Luke Bleumink, who would go on to take the Boroondara Cup at Green Acres and Kew Golf Clubs, Melbourne, later in Week 3. The 64 WAGR points earned by Bleumink this week was the best return by any golfer and though the Victorian remains WAGRanked 108, it looks likely that we will see him in the Top 100 before long.

Across the Tasman Sea at the New Zealand U23 Team Championships, Auckland’s Ryan Fox took the individual honours after finishing the tournament at 16 under-par. Fox is threatening the Top 50 and this performance lifts him 20 places to WAGRank 57.

Meanwhile, at the Mission Hills Asia-Pacific Open Amateur in China, Sri Lanka’s Mithun Perera beat France’s Alexandre Kaleka and Scot Gordon Yates in a playoff after all three players carded 72-hole scores of one over-par. Perera was to take the title with a birdie on the second extra hole and consequently leaps 323 places to be WAGRanked 1149. Kaleka and Yates jump 36 places and 50 places to finish Week 3 in 145th and 313th position respectively.

Danny Lee remains number one but Rickie Fowler’s 2nd place at Yarra Yarra leaves him within a lob wedge of Jorge Campillo in WAGRank 2.